ambassadors for the risen Christ ministries

by Nolan Guilbeau – Published in The (Opelousas, Louisiana) Daily World
℅ Shawn Brasseaux

The Lord has given man the ability to reason. The apostle Paul appeals to his audiences, delivering the simple message of the gospel of Christ (II Corinthians 11:3) and “reasoning with them from the Scriptures” (Acts 17:2; Acts 18:4). Life experiences teach valuable lessons.

Apart from God’s enablement, it is impossible to reason with a “fool” because fools reject godly wisdom. They flaunt their earthly degrees, thinking they possess great knowledge (1 Corinthians 8:2), yet they are actually ignorant of God’s Word. They refuse the greatest message of all, the simple testimony of the Bible of salvation in Christ. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7). “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise” (Proverbs 12:15).

True Christians are not offended or agitated when they hear or read the Gospel of the Grace of God. As in times past, unbelievers continue to scoff, ridicule, blaspheme and willfully reject the only source and guide under God’s heaven which leads to eternal life: the Scriptures and the person of Christ. Instead, they love “spiritual darkness rather than light [Jesus Christ]” (John 3:19).

Contrary to the belief of some, it doesn’t require a high degree of “formal training” or “learning” to discern the evolution of the patchwork of religion’s deceptive, unbiblical and extra-biblical doctrines. One example is Romanism. In light of Scripture the aberrations are distinctly recognizable. I sense that, in order to be an accepted writer of spiritual matters, some require Bible-believing Christians to submit to “formal training” from the likes of Georgetown, Loyola or any Catholic university, as well as “censorship” by Rome’s Magisterium, so only the gospel according to Rome can be presented. I believe non-Catholics are exempt from the latter, censorship (unlike Catholics who are bound by Rome’s canon laws.)

Reviewing the end results of this flaunted “formal training” came the shocking revelations of not isolated but widespread sexual perversion scandals in the church, the world community once again a witness. The origin and the perpetrators of these reprehensible crimes evolved with formal training under the direct supervision of these acclaimed institutions of Catholicism globally and the Roman hierarchy. So much for formal training. Another chapter to an existing pattern and legacy over the centuries: apparently a spiritually, morally bankrupt religious entity which boastfully proclaims itself to represents the New Testament Christian Church of Christ?

History records the monasteries of a predominant Catholic town of Coblentz, Germany in 1936. They were cesspools of filth and sexual perversions as documented by the Bulwark. Decency finally prevailed in getting the courts to intervene in prosecuting; hundreds were found guilty and jailed as common felons. Some fled to other countries to avoid prosecution. Sound familiar? Perhaps this lewd behavior is one major reason why nuns have left the convent for private apartments and priests have laid aside the Roman collar. Pew Research reports twenty three million Catholics have left the church in recent years with closure of over twelve hundred schools. Wonder why? It’s no fairy tale that, “Evil communications corrupt good morals” (I Corinthians 15:33).